Vale Richard Carlson 1941 – 2023
Richard Carlson, a member of the DIA Hall of Fame, passed away on November 2 and we lost one of the most distinguished and decorated designers of his time.
Richard Carlson, BYO Insulated Wine Chiller 1978. Image courtesy of MoMA.
Richard was born in Elsternwick on October 11, 1941. Not much is known of his early childhood other than he attended Pascoe Vale Primary School, followed by his years at the Coburg Technical School. He was to eventually enrol at the Royal Melbourne Technical College in Industrial Design and completed his studies after three years.
Richard had a few commissions in industrial design, but nothing significant until he joined Decor. Brian Davis and Richard would form a significant partnership over the coming years. Brian Davis was the founding director of Decor and he set a very high standard.
Over the years Richard would form a partnership with english born designer Tony Wolfenden and together they created a host of décor product.
Richard received the quite remarkable number of one hundred and sixty eight Australian Design Awards. More than two hundred products designed by him were exported to other countries. His Decor BYO wine chiller and carrier was awarded the Prince Phillip Prize in 1980, and was accepted as part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Another Decor product, the Defroster Plus, is made under licence in Europe and was Houseware Product of the Year for Europe at the Cologne Fair in 1982.
A significant factor in his success is his commitment to the cost effectiveness of his designs, which were simple designs for economical manufacture without compromising the products function, appearance and marketing appeal. His skills touched all aspects of product design: design, production drawings, models, prototypes, tool drawing and the supervision of production.
Richard other interests were cars. As a former colleague Brian Shanahan wrote “I am saddened to have to inform you that Richard Carlson has passed away. Driving a Mini Special he won the Vic Motorkhana Championship six time between 1995 to 2004. He will be sorely missed in the Motorkana fraternity and to many clubs throughout Victoria.” He was also interested in Rolls Royces and owned a couple over the years.
Apart from cars Richard had an interest in model boat building, and interest he shared in common with Tony Wolfenden, and he produced some elegant forms which he would sail at the Surrey Hills Model Boat Club.
Richard is grieved by his wife Clare and his sister Lynette.